(Please arrange to be looking at something pleasant while listening to the episode, as it’s audio-only.)

This is one of my favorite episodes so far. My BFF John spent the weekend at my house recently and we took the time to talk about the Avengers movie, and comics in general. John’s last name and mine are right next to each other in the alphabet, which meant we were destiny to share homeroom classes together for a crucial six years of our childhoods. We’ve been reading comics and seeing movies together practically since we started reading comics and seeing movies.

I recorded our 90 minute conversation and presenting it as two episodes. I found this conversation just as interesting while I was listening to it in the car as I did when I was actually taking part in it. I’m hoping I can bring John back for another conversation after the new “Batman” movie premieres.

John, incidentally, has an awesome movie blog. For the past three years, he’s been seeing a new movie (to him) every day and posting a review. Check out Honky’s Movie Year and subscribe…it’s one of my favorite blogs on the Internet and I don’t think you need to be his BFF to agree.

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One thought on “Ihnatko Almanac Episode 0030: “Avengers, Part 1””

OK, I never said that “Smokey and the Bandit 2” was a better movie than “Blade Runner”. Just to set the record straight.

I saw “Blade Runner” many years ago, and it was (and is) a solid 8. If I watch the right version (and I have my own opinion about which one that is) on the right day, it could easily be a 9. But since I’d already seen that film, it falls outside the parameters of the Movie Year Project. What kind of geek would I be if I haven’t seen “Blade Runner”?

I gave “SATB2” a 2. TWO! If you listen to the podcast, Andy gives a definite pause before he says “Blade Runner”. He’s trying to think of a classic, universally-beloved movie that I gave a bad rating to, and he can’t do it! So he punted. Sorry, Andy, we would have accepted “The Maltese Falcon”, which didn’t do it for me. Read the blog to find out why.

Admittedly, the 10-point rating scale is not perfect. But it’s the best we’ve got. Anyway, I’m not stating the inherent nine-ness of “Avengers” or the two-ness of “Smokey and the Bandit 2”. The number is a snapshot of how entertained I felt at the conclusion of the film – given who I am, given what’s going on in my life, and given any other external conditions. (giant screen, tub of popcorn, lack of screaming children) I think that’s par for the course for any critic, though not everyone would come out and say it.

I don’t want to parse things and say that any movie is a “8.5” – if 10 numbers aren’t good enough, it’s time to go to a 100-point scale. If you look at the ratings for the over 1150 movies I’ve reviewed on a graph, it’s nearly a perfect pyramid. Meaning most films end up between 4 and 6 on the scale. Seems about right, with only a few near-masterpieces and a few stinkers.

I’m not a professional reviewer, nor do I pretend to be. Hopefully my status as a filmmaker (or, more accurately, as someone who’s often filmmaker-adjacent) gives me an insight into movies that your typical critic may not have.